The Secret Ingredient

by Laura Schaefer

  And that meant it was list time.

  I turned off the computer and went back out into the shop. I grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from the cash register drawer and settled in at the counter. I explained to Louisa that we needed more blog followers, and fast. She said she’d be happy to offer a free cookie to our Internet fans.

  HOW TO get 500 new BLOG FOLLOWERS IN LESS THAN ONE MONTH

  By annie green

  1. Do a better job of publicizing the blog in the shop. More signs! Everywhere! In the bathrooms, on the chalkboard!

  2. See if the Isthmus will do a blurb about the contest and the Steeping Leaf’s plan to win.

  3. Send an e-mail to everyone I’ve ever met asking them to follow the blog and comment on it. Also send an e-mail to everyone Louisa’s ever met.

  4. Hand out a flier with the link and a coupon for the Leaf.

  5. Contact all the local pastry chefs in Madison for new scone ideas.

  6. Have a baking demonstration at the farmer’s market and ask people there to follow the blog.

  7. get genna and Zoe to help chalk again.

  8. See if any other bloggers will link to the Steeping Leaf blog.

  9. Comment on other people’s blogs so they come check out ours.

  10. ask all the new little Teashop Girls for their help.

  11. post even more often so readers keep coming back (and share the blog with friends!).

  Whew! I knew I had some good ideas, but when I looked at the list, I saw how much work it would be. It made me happy to think that practically everything on there would also help business at the Leaf, though. And I loved the thought of meeting new people in Madison … especially pastry chefs! I wondered if they would talk to me.

  I looked up from my list and saw that the shop was still pretty quiet. There was a mild breeze coming in through the open windows. Louisa was chatting with Ling and Hieu on the patio. I went out to say hello.

  “Hieu, you’re getting so big, buddy!” I knelt down to his level and was rewarded with a toothy grin. “Are you being good for your mama?”

  “Occasionally,” Ling said sweetly as she took a sip from the giant green tea frappe Louisa had prepared for her using matcha powder. Louisa stood up from their table just then and I saw her face light up. Mr. Arun had just arrived. He kissed my grandmother’s cheek. Even though I’d seen him do it before, I still thought it was a tiny bit weird. I dropped my eyes involuntarily but quickly remembered my manners.

  “Hello, Mr. Arun. Can I get you a pot of tea?” Louisa pulled out a chair for her sweetheart, and both Ling and Hieu said hello.

  “Why, thank you, Annie. I would love a pot of peach ginger.” It was still his favorite tea, all these months after the Teashop Girls had given him a sample at school. “But really, I can get it if you are busy.” I assured him I wasn’t and went to fetch the tea. Seeing my grandmother looking so girlishly happy around my former principal, I felt my heart speed up a bit when the thought of Zach once again popped into my head. This was getting ridiculous. It used to be that I would groan when he would crash through the door. Now I wanted him to? I didn’t recognize myself.

  I heard the door jingle and my head shot up. Seriously, this was crazy. After I delivered Mr. A’s pot of tea, I decided to dust the shelves to distract myself. I pulled the stepladder out of the closet and placed it near the bookshelves.

  “Hey, Annie,” a familiar voice said. Genna! I didn’t expect her to come in today.

  “Gen! Hey! I’m glad to see you.”

  “Yeah. Um, sorry I sort of stormed off last night.” She sounded sheepish, and kind of tired. I couldn’t help but look at her with worry all over my face.

  “That’s okay. I’m just glad you came back. Should I call Zo?”

  “Not yet. I’m still kind of mad at her for being so bossy,” Genna said, putting her hands on her hips.

  “She just wants to take care of you,” I said.

  “I suppose.”

  “You want some tea?” I decided not to press it, remembering my plan to make us all a special super-healthy treat for the next Teashop Girls tea. That would surely fix things up.

  “Yeah, green please.”

  “You got it.” I climbed down from the stepladder and went behind the counter. I grabbed a nice purple pot and scooped in one teaspoon of green tea. I poured in the hot water, and Gen and I grabbed a table. I showed her my latest list.

  “See, I’m hundreds of followers behind right now, and I need to do something,” I explained.

  “These are great ideas, Annie. You’re a totally natural, like, promoter,” Genna said enthusiastically. She blew on her teacup and took several deep swallows. Her skin looked a little wan; I hoped the tea would perk her up.

  “Thanks! I guess I am, but only when I have awesome things to tell people about.” I smiled. It was true, I really enjoyed coming up with schemes and plans for the Leaf. It sure was more fun than homework.

  “I want to help. I can design a flier for you and get my dad to print it at work. Can you write down the blog address again?”

  “Wow. That would be amazing. Thank you.” I quickly wrote down the URL on a Post-it. “Can you mention that the Leaf would give a free cookie to new blog followers who came in for a pot of tea?”

  “Perfect. You want to go do some chalking now? I don’t think it’s supposed to rain this week,” Genna said, and crossed her eyes. The last time we had tried it, the weather had not cooperated.

  “Okay. Let me just tell Louisa I’m going to leave the shop for a bit.” I took off my apron and went to look for some chalk.

  Before we left the shop to decorate Monroe Street with the Leaf’s URL, I added it to our sidewalk sign. Louisa said hello to Genna.

  “It’s nice to see you, dear. How are your parents?”

  “They’re good. They got me this,” Gen said, and showed Louisa the latest smart phone.

  “I have no idea what that is, sweetheart, but I’m sure it is wonderful,” Louisa said with a smile.

  “It is.” Genna laughed. “We’ll be back to finish my pot of tea soon!”

  As soon as we were out of earshot of the Leaf’s patio, Genna started grilling me about Zach. “Has he showed up yet? Did you talk to him last night?”

  “Um, no,” I said, a lot more calmly than I felt.

  “Why not? You should call him!” She thrust her phone in my general direction. I didn’t take it.

  “I’d rather just, you know, see if he comes into the shop like usual,” I said.

  “Ooh, very smooth. Play it cool. I like it. I could’ve used your advice at camp,” she added. I grinned. But the truth was, I had no idea what I was doing. It just seemed very weird to call Zach out of the blue when we only ever talked at the shop or at school. I wasn’t being smooth, I was being chicken.

  “Thanks,” was all I said. It felt good having her think I was totally handling my new romantic developments like a pro.

  “Should we start here?” she asked. It was as good a spot as any. I nodded.

  In Genna’s gorgeous looping handwriting the Monroe Street sidewalk said:

  Love the Leaf? Then love our blog! SteepingLeafScone.com

  “Looks good,” I said. “Genna, what’s wrong?” After she had finished writing out the blog address, she had plopped down, right on the sidewalk. I couldn’t believe she’d get her skirt dirty … it looked like it was vintage or from Anthropologie or some boutique on State Street. There were little flower shapes on it, hand-sewn. She squeezed her knees to her chest and rested her head on them.

  “I’m just so … tired,” she finally said in almost a whisper.

  “Gen! I …” This had to be because she wasn’t eating enough. But if I said something about it like Zoe had, would she storm off again? I decided I had to risk it. I couldn’t pretend everything was fine when my usually bubbly friend was sitting on the ground like a lethargic cat. “I’m really worried about you. Really. You need to eat more food. You’re probably dehydrated, too.
”

  “I guess,” was all she said. She pulled a bobby pin out of her hair and rolled it around in her fingers. I sat right down on the sidewalk with her and put my arm around her shoulder. “I haven’t heard from James at all today. I feel awful,” she added. She stuck the pin back in her hair and looked at her phone forlornly. I really, really, really wanted a cell phone. But at that moment I was kind of an eensy bit glad I didn’t have one. It seemed like the whole world around Genna didn’t matter at all if the little thing wasn’t beeping every four seconds.

  “Genna, maybe he’s just busy. Please, please come back to the shop with me and let me make you lunch. It can even be a salad. Just so you eat something.”

  “Oh, all right.” She was too low on energy to protest.

  Relieved, I helped her to her feet and we headed back to the shop. Chalking could wait; I needed to take care of my best friend.

  Matcha Frappe

  I’ve recently discovered the joy of powdered Japanese green tea, or matcha. It is LOADED with antioxidants and it is delicious. You buy it in little tins, but don’t worry, you don’t need much to make an incredible frappe. One tin of matcha is enough for dozens and dozens of marvelous, frothy, good-for-you drinks.

  Ingredients

  1 cup ice

  1 cup milk (I use 2%)

  1 tablespoon sugar

  1/2 teaspoon matcha powder

  Add the ice, milk, and sugar to your blender, and blend on low until the mixture is nice and frothy. Add the matcha powder and blend on low for another minute. The drink will be a lovely green color. Makes one shake. Enjoy!

  July 28 11:31 p.m.

  Chapter Nine

  The cup of tea on arrival at a country house is a thing which, as a rule, I particularly enjoy. I like the crackling logs, the shaded lights, the scent of buttered toast, the general atmosphere of leisured cosiness.

  —P. G. WODEHOUSE, THE CODE OF THE WOOSTERS

  The next day, after I helped open the shop and had a huge pot of Irish Breakfast tea with milk and sugar, I told Louisa I’d be in the Leaf office for most of the morning. I spent a lot of time sending messages to people about the Steeping Leaf’s new blog. Next, I visited lots and lots of food blogs and commented on them, hoping they’d come and read my posts in return. I kept checking the leader board, and sure enough, my efforts bumped us up a couple of slots! I visited SweetCakes’s blog and saw that she had just baked a blueberry walnut scone. It didn’t seem that interesting, but I had to admit that her photos were very nice. You could really see the blueberries and the texture of the scone itself. I needed to take more close-ups. Back at the SteepingLeafScone.com blog, I saw that I had FOUR comments for my bacon scone post. Yay!

  MickeysGrrrl: World’s Greatest Scone

  July 29 6:11 a.m.

  REALfoodie: Nice job with these. I love savory scones.

  July 29 7:22 a.m.

  Scone-y Nation: Hey, Steeping Leaf, these look fantastic. I bet they taste really great.

  July 29 7:46 a.m.

  Anonymous: MMMM BACON.

  July 29 8:02 a.m.

  I giggled. People love bacon. In anything.

  SCONE CONTEST LEADER BOARD

  1. Master Baker............478 followers

  2. Miss Cuppycake.........472 followers

  3. PastrySwagger..........454 followers

  4. Scone-y Nation.........401 followers

  5. SweetCakes.............390 followers

  23. SteepingLeafScone.........45 followers

  The blog was chugging along and I was feeling better about Genna. I was really worried when she nearly passed out during our sidewalk chalking, but she had eaten every last bit of the lunch I’d fixed for her and promised me that she would be more careful. We’d had a long talk, and she confessed that she had been going to super-intense spinning classes every day and only consuming beet and carrot juice instead of regular food. I said I thought it would be a good idea if she got rid of all her glossy celebrity magazines. Seeing Cecily Stevens every day was making her so unhappy. Sure, I liked looking at the cute vampire boys as much as she did. But it wasn’t worth it if it ultimately made you feel miserable.

  We settled on her agreeing to eat at least one meal at the Leaf each day. In return I promised that the food Louisa and I fixed for her would be nutritious and not loaded with sugar or butter. Then I went over to the Leaf bookshelves and lent her some good books. I figured if she got absorbed by I Capture the Castle, she might forget about her celeb rags for a little while. It was the best I could do. I told myself—and Genna—that if she had one more episode like the one on the sidewalk, I was going straight to my mom, who would call a doctor. That made her mad, but she said okay. I felt proud of myself. I knew that when it came to clothes and boys, I was a clueless freak show. But I could take care of my friends.

  As soon as Genna got the fliers printed, the blog would really take off, I just knew it. It was definitely time for a new post. I’d been thinking about doing a cookies and cream scone, but before I could blog it, I had to make it.

  First, I walked down the street to Zuzu Café and Market for some organic cookies. Then I preheated the oven and started making my scone base.

  “Ooh, what do we have here, dear?” Louisa asked. The shop was busy, so I kept taking breaks from mixing my batter to fetch chais and pots of tea. I didn’t mind. It was nice to see most of the tables all full.

  “It’s going to be a cookies and cream scone,” I said. “I think it’ll be a popular one.” I put some of the cookies on a cutting board and used a spoon to break them up into small pieces.

  “I love it! And it’s the perfect day for them too,” Louisa said. “We have lots of young customers. It’s too bad Mr. Silverman is still in Europe, I bet he’d adore these.”

  I looked around and noticed it was true. The shop was full of kids. I was glad I decided on a sweet scone. Mr. Silverman was in Paris for a month; we’d gotten a lovely postcard from him the week before. I made a mental note to send him a letter … surely blog followers in Europe counted?

  When the batter was ready, I added the cookie pieces and the secret ingredient. Then I cut the dough into little triangles, brushed them with milk, and placed the pan in the oven.

  As focused as I was on the scone prep, I couldn’t help but look at the door. Where was Zach? I was less jumpy than yesterday, but still confused. Before our storage room kiss, I’d seem him practically every single day. Most times twice a day. Had I done something wrong? Were my lips too dry? I fished a Chapstick out of my Leaf apron and put some on.

  Just then, the Leaf’s door jingled. I glanced up to see Genna bounding into the shop. She looked so much better than she had the day before. She wore navy blue short shorts with big white polka dots and a bright tangerine blouse. On her feet were flats covered in white sequins. Both of her hands were full of papers.

  “I’ve got them!” she exclaimed. “Fliers for the blog!”

  “Hello, dear.” Louisa smiled. “How delightful!”

  “Hi, Louisa. I made these last night and my dad printed them up this morning. Aren’t they cute?” Genna handed me a stack of several hundred fliers. I was thrilled!

  “They look wonderful, darling. You are a very talented artist,” Louisa replied. It was true. Genna had done a beautiful illustration of a plate of scones for the flier. They looked good enough to eat. She included the link for the Steeping Leaf blog. And it doubled as a coupon. “Let’s hand them out right away.”

  We made sure every table in the shop and on the patio got some fliers. Lots of the newest Teashop Girls were very excited and took extra fliers to give to their friends. I knew they would be a big help, because I’d worked hard earlier in the summer to make sure all the young girls who came into the Leaf got pink Teashop Girls buttons and loyalty punch cards. Not only were their cards good for free pots of tea on their birthdays, but we also sometimes gave away cute prizes and things. Everyone thought it was the best club ever. I mentioned to them that my latest sc
ones were almost done. If they stayed at the shop a bit longer, they could try one.

  “Annie?” One girl tugged at my yellow apron. She looked about six. She was with her mom, who smiled at me. I think the girl’s name was Greta, but I wasn’t sure.

  “Yes?”

  “What’s a scone?”

  I smiled. I’d never really explained it to everyone because I think I might have been born knowing. “Is your name Greta?” I asked first.

  “Yes. It is spelled G-R-E-T-A! I’m six,” she added.

  “Very nice. Well, Greta, a scone is a kind of little bread, or cake, if it has sugar. It was invented in Scotland, which is part of the United Kingdom. Have you ever heard of that?”

  “Um, um, no … maybe.” She looked at her mom, who whispered to her that Harry Potter lived in the United Kingdom. “Yes!”

  “Well, anyway, scones are little delicious treats that people have with tea. You can put jam or clotted cream on them. Or both, like I do.”

  “Okay. Thank you, Annie Green.”

  I thought it was adorable that all the younger girls who came into the shop knew my name. I tried to give them extra-attentive service and make sure that they found a tea they would love. It was my favorite part of the job.

  When Louisa went outside with a fresh pot of hot water, I handed Genna a plate I’d made up earlier with hummus, veggies, kalamata olives, and whole wheat pita bread. She grinned and put a baby carrot in her mouth. “Thanks, Annie. But actually, you’ll be happy to know I had a big breakfast—a smoothie AND two eggs. I feel amazing. Where is Zach?”

  “I don’t know,” I said quietly. “I guess he’s busy this week.”

  “We should go find him,” she suggested. Her eyes glimmered; Genna loved potential romantic drama, no matter whose. “Maybe he’s on foursquare, I’ll check.” She immediately began working her phone with her thumbs.

  “Um,” was all I replied. I didn’t know what she meant, but even so, the idea made my stomach flip. I knew Zach played Ultimate Frisbee a lot; maybe we could go get Zoe and have tea in the park. Then if we ran into him … it might be fun.